Factor analysis of travel motivation items

Exploratory factor analysis was undertaken on 17 travel motivation items in order to identify the underlying travel motivation dimensions (factors). Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was used as the method of extraction. The factors were rotated using Direct Oblimin with Kaiser Normalization to obtain an oblique solution allowing for factor intercorrelation (Henson & Roberts, 2006).

The initial five-factor solution resulted in the decision to remove two travel motivation items from the analysis. The reasons for removal were as follows. Firstly, both items scored in categories which deviated from those proposed by Fodness (1994) (see Table 22 Appendix II). Secondly, the first item ‘When I return home I want to tell everyone about my holiday’

displayed cross-loadings above 0.4 on two factors, with a small primary-secondary discrepancy of 0.17 (Matsunaga, 2010). Finally, Cronbach’s alpha analysis supported the removal of the second item ‘For me a holiday in Norway is to see the beautiful scenery’ to improve the overall reliability of the corresponding factor. Hence, both items were removed and the factor analysis was rerun with the remaining 15 travel motivation items.

The subsequent Principle Component Analysis of the 15 motivation items extracted five underlying factors, which explained 69.01% of the total variance (see Table 16, SPSS output:

Table 26-33 Appendix III). All 15 items loaded significantly with factor loadings above 0.5 (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson & Tatham, 2006) and aligned with the categorization of items proposed by Fodness (1994) (see Table 22 Appendix II). All five factors displayed eigenvalues above one, hence satisfying the Guttmann-Kaiser criterion (Henson & Roberts, 2006). The identification of the breaking point using the scree-plot test supported the retention of these five factors (Costello & Osborne, 2005; see Figure 7 Appendix I).

The reliability test for internal consistency revealed that four out of five factors scored above the recommended coefficient alpha of 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978). The only exception was factor 4 Socialization with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.59. Nevertheless, this score still ranges above the minimum level of acceptable reliability of 0.5 (Nunnally, 1967). Overall, the high reliability estimates reveal a relatively good internal consistency among the factors.

Table 16: Factor analysis of 15 travel motivation items of Anglo-American and Japanese tourists

Travel motivation factors / items Factor

Loadings Eigenvalues

• A holiday in Norway is an opportunity to

“recharge my batteries” 0.93

• I consider relaxing on holiday in Norway 0.89

• The most important thing to me on holiday in

Norway is to wind down 0.81

Factor 2: Physical 2.49 16.61 0.78 3.81

• I enjoy a lot of activities (i.e. cycling, hiking,

fishing etc.) 0.81

• A holiday in Norway keeps me active both

physically and mentally 0.81

• I go to Norway to stay active 0.79

Factor 3: Prestige/Status 1.43 9.55 0.76 2.87

• It is important traveling to a fashionable place

during the holiday 0.83

• It is important to show my co-workers that I

can afford a trip to Norway 0.83

• A trip to Norway helps me to get a clearer

picture of who I am 0.60

• The fact that I master different situations during my holiday in Norway confirms the way

I view myself 0.54

Factor 4: Socialization 1.27 8.46 0.59 4.55

• The holiday in Norway is a time when the

family can be together 0.81

• I enjoy to talk about the places I’ve visited and

the things I’ve seen 0.68

This factor comprises three motivation items reflecting a general drive towards the state of relaxation. Items include ‘A holiday in Norway is an opportunity to recharge my batteries’, ‘I consider relaxing on holiday in Norway’ and ‘The most important thing to me on holiday in Norway is to wind down’. This factor contains an Eigenvalue of 3.98 and explains 26.51% of

total variance. It has a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87.

Factor 2: Physical

This factor comprises three motivation items which demonstrate individuals’ spirit to remain active during the holidays. Items include ‘I enjoy a lot of activities (i.e. cycling, hiking, fishing etc.)’, ‘A holiday in Norway keeps me active both physically and mentally’ and ‘I go to Norway to stay active’. This factor has an eigenvalue of 2.49 and accounts for 16.61% of total variance. It displays a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.78.

Factor 3: Prestige/Status

This factor contained four motivation items reflecting themes of self-esteem and status reflection. Items include ‘It is important traveling to a fashionable place during the holiday’,

‘It is important to show my co-workers that I can afford a trip to Norway’, ‘A trip to Norway helps me to get a clearer picture of who I am’ and ‘The fact that I master different situations during my holiday in Norway confirms the way I view myself’. This factor has an eigenvalue of 1.43 and accounts for 9.55% of total variance. It contains a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.76.

Factor 4: Socialization

The forth factor entailed three motivation items concerning interaction of individuals within their social environment and with their family. Items include ‘The holiday in Norway is a time when the family can be together’, ‘I enjoy to talk about the places I’ve visited and the things I’ve seen’ and ‘I enjoy traveling to Norway with good friends’. This factor displays an Eigenvalue of 1.27 and explains 8.46% of total variance. It contains a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.59.

Factor 5: Novelty/Knowledge

The final factor contained two motivation items reflecting aspirations to seek new experiences and environments. Items include ‘I like to see how people in Norway live their lives’, ‘It is important to me to experience a new culture and way-of life in Norway’. This factor contains an Eigenvalue of 1.18 and accounts for 7.88% of total variance. It reports a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.71.